I completely agree and although tongue in cheek, I would go as far as to say that those of us who were there should get the Hohne (f******) tank park guard bar to our GSM's (crossed pick helves), the (bloody) Schloss Neuhaus NAAFI (Saturday shopping) bar and the crossing of the (bloody) Weser medal!

Im not trying to slag anyone off here. But is it just me that thinks the only outcome here is going to be a NDM. There must be loads of cases of small (or maybe even large) conflicts service that never got a medal. Just seems like they will probably use a NDM to level all the past inadequacies, even though thats still not going to recognise those who actually did serve somewhere. And those who got pissed in Germany for the minimum time.

Jumping on the band wagon, the 6 month operational swans in Belize never got a medal.....just an addiction to rum

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Exactly what was "operational" about Belize? Unless you mean the minor surgery carried out by the medics to treat your dose of clap from The Big C/Rauls Rose Garden. One good thing about Belize was that it turned squaddies into gentlemen. After all, you never heard a squaddy fart in Belize in case he had a follow through in his shorts.

As I recall, CMD instigated this in order to put right some of the problems thrown up by the Major review.

Under that review, the BEM was swept away, and all those who would have got the BEM would now get the MBE instead. Unfortunately, someone forgot to tell the Honours and Awards Cttee as "ordinary people" (for which read dinner ladies, school crossing attendants and all those who have the Imperial Service Medal) appear to have been left by the wayside.

I completely agree and although tongue in cheek, I would go as far as to say that those of us who were there should get the Hohne (f******) tank park guard bar to our GSM's (crossed pick helves), the (bloody) Schloss Neuhaus NAAFI (Saturday shopping) bar and the crossing of the (bloody) Weser medal!

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My bold. That action deserved a ******* medal. If I had wanted to go swanning around on boats then I would have joined the Booties! But the army being what it is decided that rivers is there for crossing - fair one, but why on earth did they decide the ideal boat for infantry squaddies was a 15 ton lump of metal shaped like a brick but which could be kept afloat by extending a 3' canvas screen! That was the scariest thing I did IMO, and I was not even the poor driver who was stuck in the driving compartment which often below the bow-wave and therefore technically under water level.